The health minister wants to outlaw all sunbeds, having previously rejected demands to restrict their use to over-18s

Mary Harney last week announced she would seek a total ban on sunbeds, deeming the move a "no brainer" given the prevalence of skin cancer in Ireland. The health minister, left, told a cancer summit organised by the cyclist Lance Armstrong's Livestrong foundation that she hopes legislation outlawing the use of sunbeds by under-18s would be ratified quickly. She has asked her department to examine whether sunbeds can be banned outright. Tom Keane, the director of the national cancer control programme, backed Harney, citing a recent research paper that classified sunbeds as a category one carcinogen. "If that was a drug or a substance that was in food, there would be a massive clamour for it to be banned," he said.